⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: ⚠️

DARK. TWISTED. EXPLICIT. THIS STORY CONTAINS MATURE THEMES, TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS, MANIPULATION, BETRAYAL, AND CONTENT NOT SUITABLE FOR SENSITIVE READERS.

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

"Emily's PoV"

“I really shouldn’t be doing this,” I muttered into my gin and tonic, the ice clinking against the glass as I swirled it. My voice was barely audible over the smooth jazz piano drifting through the upscale hotel bar, but the man who had just slid onto the stool beside me heard it anyway.

“Doing what, exactly?” His voice was deep, warm, like aged whiskey sliding over velvet. I turned my head and nearly forgot how to breathe.

He was...